The Switch
by aprilgirl01
Summary: This year, things at Hogwarts are going to be a little different. One student from every house is going to be selected to take part in The Switch. These students will spend a month living with a different house, to "increase inter house understanding," as Dumbledore says. Will The Switch make new friendships? or will it go down as the worst idea in Hogwarts History?
1. Chapter 1: The Idea

So I got this idea from an Instagram post. I hope you like it!

(Dumbledore's POV)

The feast on the first night of Hogwarts was going well, just like every other year. The first years had been sorted, the food was delicious, and everyone was excited to be back for another year at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore was sitting in his large chair at the High Table, digging in to a large, delicious piece of chicken. As he sipped his pumpkin juice, he mulled over the new announcement he was about to make. He had been thinking about this over the summer, and (as usual) he thought his idea was excellent. It was only a question about how the students would react….

Please review! Constructive criticism is always welcome.


	2. Chapter 2: The Announcement

A/N: This story does not take place while Harry is at Hogwarts. I don't want to deal with any of the things that occur while Harry is at school, so let's say this happens sometime in between James, Lily, and Harry's years. So the only characters that will be the same will be the professors.

I got this idea from an Instagram post. I hope you like it!

*Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Harry Potter world*

Leah Penford was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, as always, on the start of her fifth year. As always, Marie-Kate was on her left, and Josh and Danny were sitting across from her. Some new first year was on Leah's right, and she turned and smiled at the boy, shaking his hand and welcoming him to Ravenclaw. Turning back around to Marie-Kate, Leah saw her friend's head was stuck in a book, again.

"Marie!" Leah teased, "There is something called civilized _conversation. _I think you should try taking part in it."

"Leah," Marie-Kate protested, "O.W.L.s are this year! I need to get at least twelve O.W.L.s if I want to become an Unspeakable! Right now, I can't see myself getting anything over an E. in astronomy, and I'm pretty sure my ancient runes marks are hopeless! I-"

"Marie." Leah held up a hand, stopping the flow of worries. "You'll be fine. But studies show that overdosing on studying doesn't do anything but impede the brain's ability to process information. So put the book down, and EAT."

Marie-Kate nodded, shoved her book under the bench, and dug into mashed potatoes.

…..

When the meal ended, Dumbledore rose, and silence fell over the hall.

"Welcome, welcome," he began, "To another magical year at Hogwarts! Before you can be dismissed back to your dormitories, I have a few announcements. To begin with, let us welcome our new defense against the dark arts teacher, Professor Madegely!"

A stout, female witch with vivid purple robes on, stood up. She gave a slight wave, to a polite applause. Then, Professor Dumbledore continued.

"Also, Mr. Filch has requested that I remind you that no magic is to be done in the halls! Adding on to that, it would do to note that the Forbidden Forest is, you guessed it, forbidden to all students. We are looking for a new Quidditch announcer, so if that interests you, please sign up with Madam Hooch by next week."

Dumbledore paused, looking around. He took a deep breath, and let the bomb drop.

"One last thing. This year, Hogwarts will be installing a new program called The Switch."

Leah glanced at Marie-Kate. "Maybe this is some extra-curricular that I can take!" She exclaimed, excited. Dumbledore continued.

"In The Switch, one student from every year in each house will be selected to spend a month with a different house. They will go about their schedule as if they were part of that other house, they will eat with them, sleep in their dormitories, etcetera. The staff hopes this will increase inter-house understanding, and friendships. The Selected students will be announced tomorrow during breakfast. And with no further words, I know our soft beds are waiting, so let's head of to bed. Pip Pip!"

The whole hall was shell-shocked. Students go to different houses? That was impossible! Marie-Kate and Leah leaned across the table to talk to their friends, Josh and Danny.

"What do you think?" Marie-Kate asked worriedly, "You think it'll work? I mean, it's got to look good on a job application! But I feel bad for whoever gets the Slytherin! I don't know…."

Josh, always the one to speak his mind, said "I think Dumbledore's off his rocker with this one."

As the four of them got up from the table, Marie-Kate squeaked, "Oh! I have to go see to the first years! Got to go!" As a prefect, she had to lead the others back to the dorm. Josh, Danny, and Leah walked back by themselves. They could find their own way back.

Leah was wrapped in thought. It would be exciting to be able to say that she did The Switch, but she didn't want to leave her friends. She thought about her twin brother in Gryffindor. What if one of them went to each other's houses? She didn't think she could stand a whole month with Leo. But-and an exciting thought hit her- what if her crush, a Gryffindor boy named Alec, ended up with Ravenclaw? Leah shivered with anticipation.

She must not have been looking where she was going, because the next thing she knew, BAM! She had collided with somebody and had been sent spinning into a stone wall. Leah whipped around, an apology on the tip of her tongue, when a voice said,

"Watch where you're going, loser!"

Of course. It was Adrianna Flemmings, a Slytherin fifth year, and Leah's worst enemy. Adrianna tossed her red braids behind her shoulders, and sneered, "You're such a klutz, Penford. It's no wonder your parents can't get jobs, with their heads up in the clouds all day, just like you!"

The posse of girls behind Adrianna snickered, and she tossed her braids again, purposely hitting Leah in the face. "Later, loser!"

She disappeared down the corridor to the dungeon.

Leah heard footsteps, as Josh and Danny caught up to her. "Was that Adrianna?" Danny asked, a look of pure loathing on his face, "What did she want?"

Leah's face was red hot with shame. "Yeah, she was just making fun of my parents." Leah's parents were both unemployed, geniuses, but unable to stick to one thing or focus long enough to get something done. Leah got her work ethic, along with her brown hair and eyes, from her Aunt.

Josh placed a hand on Leah's shoulder. "You have to start sticking up for yourself! You're being a doormat, just like she wants!"

Leah shrugged his hand off. "I know, it's just that it's true!"

Josh opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something, but the fast pitter-pattering of feet caused them all to turn around. It was red-faced Diana Mulberth, another fifth year Ravenclaw, running to catch up with them.

"Hey!" She greeted, sweaty and out of breath from running, "How was your summer? Did you go to the Quidditch world cup? Hey, Leah, what's wrong?"

Leah tossed her hair and smiled. "Nothing. And no, my parents couldn't get tickets. Did you go? How was it?"

The bright, fresh laughter of the four Ravenclaws bounced off the stone staircases, and echoed through the halls. All thoughts of bullies, and parents, and The Switch flew from Leah's mind, as she debated the pros and cons of England's Quidditch team. How long her mind, and the minds of those around her, would stay worry free, though, no one could say.

…..

I hope you liked this chapter! I hope to get a new one up soon. Can I get three reviews before the next chapter? And thanks to Farrafelpies for reviewing!


	3. Chapter 3: The Selected

Disclaimer: I don't own HP

… The next morning, Leah awoke, shaking her head in bleary confusion. She had had some dream... something about blueberries and potatoes? Then she remembered the events of the previous night. Leah sat bolt upright in bed. Today was the day! The day The Switch started! Leah didn't particularly want to be chosen, but she was still excited.

About an hour later, the Ravenclaws filtered down to the Great Hall, buzzing in excitement. They took their seats, and, along with the rest of the school, looked up at Dumbledore expectantly. When the last of the houses (Gryffindor) was seated, Dumbledore rose, and a hush fell over the hall.

"I hope, firstly, that your sleep was comfortable and refreshing!" Dumbledore began, "But I know you are all waiting for The Switch to begin! So, without further ado, let me begin by explaining how this will work. The selected students from Gryffindor will be going to Ravenclaw. The selected Ravenclaws to Slytherin, the Slytherins to Hufflepuff, and the Hufflepuffs to Gryffindor. Let me remind you that one student from every year in each house will be chosen. So without further ado, let us start with the first years!"

As Dumbledore started calling off the names of the first year students that would be switching houses, Leah's aversion to being chosen magnified. If she got chosen, she would go to SLYTHERIN. She was also worried that her brother would end up in Ravenclaw. But- Alec could end up in Ravenclaw! That would be awesome. But, that fifth year prefect Bill Weasley was another option, which would make for an interesting month! Leah's thoughts were snapped back to reality as Dumbledore announced,

"The fifth year Gryffindor who will be Switching temporarily to Ravenclaw is… Alec Peonford!"

The Ravenclaws all gave a polite applause, but inside, Leah could feel her heart racing. Alec was going to be spending a month in Ravenclaw! She could hardly believe it! Her face was flushing, and she could feel her ears burning. But then Dumbledore announced,

"The fifth year Ravenclaw who will be spending a month in Slytherin is… Marie-Kate Flodor!"

Marie-Kate's mouth opened wide. What? She didn't want to have to spend a month in Slytherin, with that awful Adrianna, and her goons! But she had no choice….

Leah was upset. Would Adrianna turn Marie-Kate against her? Or would Marie-Kate have a terrible time? It was a loose-loose situation.

Neither the Slytherin nor Hufflepuff students Switching were of any real notice to Leah. Her crush was coming to Ravenclaw, but her best friend was leaving for Slytherin! Marie-Kate noticed Leah's upset look, and squeezed her arm.

"Hey," she said, reassuringly, "It'll be fine. I'll have something else to put on my resume when I apply for a job!"

She was joking, and it worked, for Leah gave out a watery chuckle. "I know," Leah responded, "And it's only for a month, right?"

Marie-Kate nodded, looking relieved that Leah wasn't too upset. "Right."

Just then, Dumbledore finished up the seventh years, and announced, "Now, there will be no classes in between now and lunch. Please use this time to situate yourselves or your new dorm mates where you need to be. Just a reminder, classes will begin this afternoon, so please bring whatever books you need for your afternoon classes to lunch. Now, let us eat!"

The food magically appeared onto the golden plates, and Josh and Danny slid into the seats across from the girls. All four of them put their heads together, and Danny asked,

"Marie, are you going to be okay dealing with Adri in Slytherin? I mean, if not, I can always hex her if you'd like. It would be unfortunate if she had to spend the next month in the hospital wing…." He grinned.

Marie-Kate looked at him sternly. "Daniel Goldman! You will do no such thing, and risk getting the both of us in trouble!"

Marie-Kate looked as if she was about to go on a rant about her perfect no-detention streak of five years, so Leah thought she'd better cut her off.

"So, the potatoes look really good this year!" She exclaimed loudly, although inwardly she couldn't care less about the breakfast potatoes. She just needed Marie-Kate to stop talking.

Josh rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever, Leah." He mumbled, through a mouthful of pancakes, "Just stop critiquing the food, and start eating it."

Leah laughed, and dug into said potatoes. She knew that starting after the meal, she was going to be losing her best friend for a month, and while that upset her, Leah was a logical person. It wasn't as if Marie-Kate was going to turn into a full-blown Slytherin in that time. And she'd still see her in lots of classes. Plus, Alec would be joining her house….

Working a smile onto her face, Leah took a deep breath, and looked up to enjoy the last meal she would have at Hogwarts before things changed. How drastically things would change, of course, she had no way of knowing. She just hoped the change was for good.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you are reading this, please review, it doesn't take that much time, and it means a lot to me. I would also love some constructive feedback, as I am only a novice writer. Thank you again to Farrafelpies for all the support and ideas .


	4. Enter, Alec

Sorry this update took forever, I was really busy! Anyway, here it is.

The meal ended all too soon, and Dumbledore stood up. "All the Selected students should now report to their temporary houses to get set up." Marie-Kate rose, hugged Leah, and winked at the boys. Then, she walked over to the Slytherin table where, to Leah's dismay, Adrianna waved her over, and the two began to talk easily. Leah swallowed hard.

"Hey, do you guys mind showing me to the Ravenclaw tower?" Leah whipped around and locked eyes with the dark-haired Alec Peonford.

"U-u-yeah, sure." She stammered, her face heating up.

Leah was immensely relived when Danny piped up, "Come on, Alec, let's go." Leah exhaled quietly, and followed Josh out of the hall.

"So, you already know me and Josh, and also Leah, and this is Dianna. We're going to be your house mates for the next month."

A pair of dark-skinned twins walked up to us, with a chorused, "Hey guys, what's up?"

Leah smiled. "Hey guys, Alec, this is Bobbi and Brendon, they're the other Ravenclaw fifth years."

Alec smiled. "Hey, Bobbi and Brendon."

Just then, they came upon the door for the Ravenclaw common room. Bobbi knocked, an action she had done a thousand times, and the phoenix knocker asked, _"When I say this word, I disappear. What am I?"_

Leah laughed. "Easy! You are silence!"

_"Correct."_ And the door swung open. Alec looked confused. "Isn't there just a password?"

Bobbi smiled. "No, you have to answer a question, or wait for someone who can. That way you learn, see?"

Alec looked doubtful, but he followed Danny into the common room. His jaw dropped as he took in the huge, blue and bronze arched ceiling, the towering dark oak wood bookshelves lining every wall. "I… what are all these books for? The library has anything and everything there!"

Leah giggled. What was wrong with her? She never giggled. "Not pleasure reading," she explained, "I mean, how do you other houses do it, go through a whole year without reading any novels. Here," she selected a thick novel from the shelf. "Ode to the Wizard in Sparta. And oh, this is a good one, "The Bad Brew, by Bradon Bradshelf, oh, we've got every book you could ask for here!"

All the other Ravenclaws were nodding enthusiastically, but Alec seemed underwhelmed. "Oh. So, anyone up for a game of chess?"

Bobby stepped in. "Wait; let's get you settled into your dorm while the girls set up a chess tornament, kay?"

Alec nodded, and Leah, Dianna and Bobbi set up a chess board, chatting benignly.

"So Leah, how do you think Marie-Kate is doing?" Dianna asked, but before Leah could answer, Bobbi stepped in.

"She's probably fine. She'll just keep her nose in a book, and they'll leave her alone. Remember fourth year, when she jelly-legs jinxed two of them and nobody could take it off for two days?"

All the girls laughed, and just then, the boys came down. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Bobbi said hurriedly, "Let's play chess."

Alec nodded in assent. "Who's my first victim?"

Leah, in a surge of boldness, stepped forward. "Don't you mean your first conqueror?"

Alec laughed. "You're on, smarty pants."

Leah narrowed her eyes as the two lowered themselves down to the board. "You're going down, daredevil."

By this point, a sizable crowd had gathered to watch the match. Alec played as white, and Leah recognized right away that he was going for the offensive, leaving a weak defense behind. Before long, all Alec had left was his king, two pawns and a bishop. He, Leah realized, didn't keep his important pieces protected. Leah was set up nicely with her king, both knights, both rooks, a queen, and a pawn. It didn't take more than thirty moves for Alec to throw his arms up in defeat to general applause. He tipped his king to Leah, as the other fifth years converged, playing each other again and again. Soon, Ravenclaw tower was filled with chess boards, laughing geniuses, and seven Gryffindors, turning down no challenges, and losing every single game. And in the warmth of her second home, Leah forgot how upset she was, with Marie-Kate for leaving her, with Dumbledore for thinking up this challenge, with her parents for making her a laughing stock, for Adrianna for teasing her, Leah could almost relax, and a spark of hope flickered inside her that maybe the Switch could be good.

And there it is! Chapter four! Please, review! It will make chapters come faster, and constructive criticism is always helpful.


	5. Green and Silver

*I don't own Harry Potter (unfortunately)*

(Marie-Kate's POV)

Marie- Kate was nervous. She trailed behind the rest of Slytherin house, and followed them as they walked deeper, and deeper, down more, and more stairs, to the lowest parts of the castle. Then, she looked up and skidded to a stop, almost bumping into Adrianna, who was in front of her.

The group had stopped in front of a large, green wall, with a snake knocker out in front. A seventh year called out, "No Mudboods!"

The call was repeated multiple times throughout the swarm of students. The bricks in the wall began to shift, revealing the dank, dark, green Slytherin common room behind it. Despite herself, Marie-Kate looked around in awe. The huge space was an amazing architectural feat- there were Greek-inspired pillars throughout, and a high, arched ceiling that made the whole place look like a vault.

Marie-Kate was jolted out of her stupor when a high voice called, "Well, Marie? Do you like it?"

It was a voice that for five years, Marie-Kate had associated with nastiness. Adrianna strutted over to her, red braids swinging gently. For the first time, Adrianna's face wasn't contorted into a sneer, but was relaxed, an expression of bemused pride on her face.

"I mean, the architecture is amazing, but it's so dark! And where are the books?" Marie-Kate blurted out.

Adrianna laughed. "You'll get used to the light. And we don't have bookshelves, but why can't you just use the library?"

"Oh, the library doesn't have half of the literature that the Ravenclaw common room does. All that's there are factual books. Ravenclaw has tons of novels."

"Well, we don't have books. Come on, I'll show you to the dorm."

Why was she being so nice? This was not the Adrianna that had broken Marie-Kate's glasses last year, or the Adrianna who constantly berated Leah about her background. This Adrianna… well, she was almost tolerable.

Adrianna's pale hand clasped itself around Marie-Kate's wrist, and pulled her off to the dorm. It was brighter in there, a lot more cheerful. The other three Slytherins were all in there already.

The girl sitting on the bed farthest from the door had white-blond hair, and clear blue eyes. She waved, and introduced herself as Nixie Grates. The dark-haired girl on her right shook Marie-Kate's hand, saying her name was Renée Murray. The third and final girl had hazel eyes and wavy brown hair. Marie-Kate already knew her- that was Katy Summers.

Adrianna led Marie-Kate over to a fifth bed in the corner of the room. "This," she announced, "Will be yours."

"Thanks."

Marie-Kate's things had been placed on the bed already, and then began to fold her clothes into drawers under the bed. The Slytherin dormitory was very different than the one she'd become used to. In Ravenclaw, the hangings were a soft silk, deep blue, and the carpet was a dark bronze color. Every dorm had its own set of desks and a bookshelf. If you were clever enough to find them, there were all sorts of hidden nooks and crannies in the dorms, filled by students who had graduated, with candies and books. Marie-Kate loved it there.

The Slytherin dormitory was very different. The curtains were a dark, thick green material, the walls were a smooth slab of grey cement. The floor was a thick, squishy carpet, and there were no books. Nixie must have seen Marie-Kate's underwhelmed expression, for she put a hand on the Ravenclaw's shoulder and said,

"Oh, please. You haven't seen anything." Then the blond girl pointed her wand at a section on the wall.

"Ductus!"

A faint crack in the wall shone with light, and a small outline of a door appeared on the wall. Nixie shoved it open, and revealed a small alcove that had been hidden by the cement.

"What the-"

Marie-Kate looked at it in awe. The whole room was made of steel, with desks, chairs, and a huge drawing board on one wall.

"This is our planning room," Renée explained, "Most people forget, but Slytherin is known for their leadership and cunning. We found this place second year, and now we use it to think of pranks, plans, or studying. You know- on the rare occasion that we actually do study." She cracked a half smile.

Marie-Kate was amazed. A whole secret room dedicated to making plans and improving things! This was so cool!

"Here, catch!" Katy tossed her a piece of toffee, and Marie-Kate shot up a hand to catch it. Popping the candy in her mouth, Marie-Kate exclaimed, "This is so good!"

"I know, right?" Adrianna laughed, "Katy has connections at Honeydukes. We Slytherins know how to have fun sometimes!"

Marie-Kate grinned and reached over for another toffee. Soon candy was flying everywhere, and all five of them were laughing, and Marie-Kate was giggling along with them, as if they were life-long friends.

But at the back of her mind, Leah's voice echoed. "Um, Marie? Who's side are you on?"

Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be back in Leah's POV. I'm sorry the update took forever, but I had the next chapter all typed up, then my computer crashed, then I wasn't feeling inspired. Please R&amp;R! Constructive criticism is welcome!


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